Synthetic proteins focus of Park's research

By CORY NEALON

“Proteins are the workhorse of everything going on inside our bodies.”

Sheldon Park, assistant professor

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Sheldon Park arrived at UB in 2006 with a plan.

He knew there was no simple and effective way to study proteins
on the surface of live cells. He wanted to change that: Doing so
could open new frontiers in research and, possibly, shed light on
diseases linked to protein mutations.

Never mind that others tried to accomplish this without success
for the past 20 years. Never mind that he was just starting his
research career. Never mind it would require more than six years of
work.

Park stuck with the plan and developed a synthetic protein
called monomeric streptavidin that scientists worldwide are using
for everything from HIV research, drug delivery and the molecular
analysis of peptides, proteins and other cellular components.

“Although my students and I encountered many setbacks, we
weren’t deterred. We knew the technology had, and continues
to have, the potential to help scientists around the globe answer
tough questions in medicine, biotechnology and other fields of
research,” says Park, an assistant professor in the
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

Park’s ingenuity caught the attention of the National
Science Foundation, which in 2011 awarded him a $400,000 CAREER
grant, the foundation’s most prestigious honor for young
investigators. In August, the foundation committed another $300,000
to Park so he could expand his research into protein
engineering.

“Proteins are the workhorse of everything going on inside
our bodies,” he says. “They appeal to me because of the
diversity of their function. These molecules are made with simple
chemical building blocks, yet there doesn’t seem to be any
limit to what they can do.”

Among other things, proteins regulate metabolism, assist the
immune system, aid digestion, provide structural support in cells
and transport molecules throughout the body.

Park studies how natural proteins function to make synthetic
proteins with biotechnology applications. For example, synthetic
proteins could be useful in determining causes as to why certain
genetic mutations, such as cancer, chronic inflammation and
neurodegenerative diseases, develop.

He also is investigating a cure for Crohn’s Disease, a
form of inflammatory bowel disease that affects roughly 500,000
people in the U.S. The illness affects the gastrointestinal tract,
causing frequent and unpredictable flare-ups that can lead to
abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and other
symptoms.

Scientists have known since 2001 that a defective protein
contributes to the disease, Park says, but no one understands
why.

He engineered a peptide which has shown promise in reversing the
effects of the mutation. He is conducting additional studies with
University of Michigan researchers to confirm the finding in animal
models and patients.

Park hopes the research will translate into a drug to help
people suffering from the debilitating condition.

Park, who earned a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University and
did postdoctoral research in chemistry and chemical engineering at
the University of Philadelphia, runs a research laboratory in
Furnas Hall.